TheStreet Ratings released rating changes on 54 U.S. common stocks for week ending September 30, 2011. 11 stocks were upgraded and 43 stocks were downgraded by our stock model.

Parkvale Financial Corporation ( PVSA) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from sell to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, increase in net income and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that the company's return on equity has been disappointing.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Thrifts & Mortgage Finance industry and the overall market, PARKVALE FINANCIAL CORP's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

PARKVALE FINANCIAL CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has not demonstrated a clear trend in earnings over the past two years, making it difficult to accurately predict earnings for the coming year. During the past fiscal year, PARKVALE FINANCIAL CORP reported poor results of -$3.30 versus -$1.90 in the prior year.

Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 191.24% to $5.72 million when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite an increase in cash flow of 191.24%, PARKVALE FINANCIAL CORP is still growing at a significantly lower rate than the industry average of 341.04%.

The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has exceeded that of the S&P 500 and greatly outperformed compared to the Thrifts & Mortgage Finance industry average. The net income increased by 37.3% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from $1.42 million to $1.95 million.

Powered by its strong earnings growth of 55.55% and other important driving factors, this stock has surged by 158.94% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Regarding the stock's future course, our hold rating indicates that we do not recommend additional investment in this stock despite its gains in the past year.

Parkvale Financial Corporation operates as a holding company for Parkvale Savings Bank that provides various consumer and commercial banking services to individuals, partnerships, and corporations in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Parkvale Financial has a market cap of $121.1 million and is part of the financial sector and banking industry. Shares are up 136.4% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.